1960

Major Events:

July 14:Jonas Mekas, his brother Adolfas and Barbara Stone are arrested in Connecticut while scouting locations for a film. (Article)

July 21: The Village Voice publishes a negative review of Pull My Daisy written by Maya Deren.

July 29 — August 6:Jonas Mekas films Guns of the Trees on Long Island, and in and around NYC [Journal Note: Most likely, these are not the only shooting dates of the film, but are what Mekas recounted in his “Movie Journal” column.] (J.M.)

September 28: “A number of film-makers met at the New York office of producer Lewis Allen to found what they called ‘The New American Cinema Group’.” From this group would derive the term “New American Cinema.” (S.R.; S.M.) (P.A.S. adds that the meeting was called by Jonas Mekas, included 23 filmmakers and composed a revolutionary manifesto.) (Article)

September 30:Jonas Mekas presents the first draft of the New American Cinema Group’s Manifesto, which is approved by the group. (Article)

Jonas Mekas picks Maya Deren to fill-in for him as film critic for the Village Voice during the summer when he takes off to make Guns of the Trees. (P.A.S.)

Summer: In Film Quarterly vol. XIV no. 14, Stan Vanderbeek has his article “The Cinema Delimina — Films From the Underground” published. It is the first time the word “underground” is used to describe experimental film. (Article)

Bruce Baillie begins free screening series in the Bay Area. (D.C.) (P.A.S. describes it as Canyon Cinema being founded by Baillie) (S.M. quotes Baillie as saying that the screenings began “around 1960” in the back yard of a house he was renting in San Francisco with his girlfriend Kikuko. He initially screened films weekly and informally names his makeshift outdoor theater “Canyon Cinema.”

Significant Films:

U.S.:

Bruce Baillie:Sundays (1960-61) (S.R.) (S.M. lists as just 1961 and with the title On Sundays)Mr. Hayashi (S.R.; P.A.S.; S.M.)The Sculpture of David Lynn (S.R.) (S.M. lists as David Lynn’s Sculpture)The Gymnasts (S.R.; S.M.)Friend Fleeing (S.R.) (S.M. lists film as 1962 and title Friend Feeling)

Stan Vanderbeek:Wheeels # 1 (1958-61)Skullduggery Part II (1960-61)Snapshots of the City
(S.R.)

John Whitney:Catalogue (S.R.; D.C.)

Vernon Zimmerman:Lemon Hearts (1960-61) (starring Taylor Mead) (S.R.)

1962

Major Events:

June 1: In advance of publishing their first full catalog, the Film-Makers’ Cooperative sends out a letter listing several films available for rent. (Article)

June 25:Stan Vanderbeek hosts a screening of experimental comedies — featuring work by Robert Breer, Carmen D’Avino and Dan Drasin — at the Maidman Theatre, 416 West 42nd Street. (J.M.)

June 28 — July 4: The Charles Theatre hosts a Film-maker’s Festival. [What was screened is unknown.] (J.M.)

July:Cavalier magazine publishes an article on experimental film written by Rudy Franchi. (J.M.)

December: Canyon Cinema publishes the first issue of the News, edited by Alexandra Ossipoff. (S.M.)

Jonas Mekas takes over the cooperative distribution center project called for in item number six in the manifesto drafted by the New American Cinema Group in 1960. Since that first meeting, all the filmmakers involved had basically given up on this project. (P.A.S.) (S.R. and D.C. just say that the Film-makers’ Cooperative is founded; while J.S. includes that it is founded by Jonas Mekas) (S.M. notes that the Film-makers’ Cooperative publishes its own catalogue of films it distributes and encourages theater owners to book programs dedicated to single film artists.)

1963

Major Events:

By at least June 13, the Bleecker Street Cinema had ended it’s relationship with the Film-Makers’ Co-op and Film Culture to host underground film midnight screenings here. (J.M.)

June 15:Twice a Man by Gregory Markopoulos has its first public screening at the Gramercy Arts Theatre (138 East 27th Street). The were three screenings, all arranged by the Smolin Gallery to benefit the “completion of the sound track to the film.” (J.M.)

The July 13 issue of The New Yorker publishes an article on underground film-makers; which Jonas Mekas contends characterizes them as “angry.” (J.M.)

By July 25, Naomi Levine has “just” finished her first movie. (J.M.)

October 4: Gregory Markopoulos’s Twice a Man opens at the Gramercy Arts Theatre.

Slavko Vorkapich gives ten lectures at the Museum of Modern Art entitled “The Visual Nature of the Film Medium.” The lecture series ended with a screening of Bruce Conner‘s A Movie. The series is attended by Gregory Markopoulos, Jonas Mekas, Willard Van Dyke and Andy Warhol.

France:

Alexandre Alexeieff (with Clair Parker, his wife):Le Nez (D.C.)

1964

Major Events:

January (exact date unknown): The New American Cinema Exposition is established in Munich, Germany, led by P. Adams Sitney. The Exposition travels to Amsterdam, Stockholm, Vienna, London and Paris. (J.M.)

Week of March 5: The New Bowery Theatre hosts a Kuchar brothers’ movie festival. (J.M.)

March 7: Michael A. Getz, the theater manager of the Cinema Theater in Los Angeles is arrested for showing an “obscene” film, Scorpio Rising by Kenneth Anger. May 13: Getz is convicted by a jury. December: Getz’s conviction is overturned by a superior court. (Articles)

July 25:Andy Warhol films Empire. Present at the filming are Jonas Mekas, Gerard Malanga, John Palmer, Marie Desert and a Henry X. (J.M.)

Prior to November 12:Andy Warhol‘s Kiss was banned from screening at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg) by the Manitoba Board of Film Censors. (J.M.)

Prior to December 10: A case against a screening of Jean Genet’s Un Chant d’Amour in San Francisco by the San Francisco Mime Troupe is dismissed by the District Attorney. (J.M.)

December 11: A symposium entitled 8 mm.: Avant-Garde of the Future!? is given at the Eventorium in New York City. The panel included Lenny Lipton, Alfred Leslie, Serge Gavronsky, Mike and George Kuchar and others. At the event, George Kuchar delivers a manifesto. (Read the manifesto here.) (J.M.)

December 21: Naomi Levine screens two films, Jaremelu and Yes, at the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque. (J.M.)

Prior to December 31: Ron Rice dies from pneumonia while living in Mexico. (J.M.)

Jordan Belson is offered a $10,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, even though he had given up filmmaking earlier in the decade. Initially, he refused the money, but ultimately accepted it and makes the film Re-Entry. (P.A.S.)

Stan Brakhage publishes his seminal book Metaphors on Vision. (P.A.S.) (D.C. says publication year is 1963)

Police seize Jean Genet’s Un Chant d’amour during a screening in San Francisco hosted in an abandoned church used as the headquarters of the S.F. Mime Troupe. Police took the actual film and the movie projector as “evidence” at a second showing of the film of the night Eventually, no charges were pressed by the D.A. (S.M.)

Storm De Hirsch‘s Goodbye in the Mirror screens out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival and is invited to screen at the Locarno Film Festival on July 27. (S.M.)

Significant Films:

U.S.:

Bruce Baillie:Mass for the Dakota Sioux (D.C.; P.A.S.) (S.R. calls film just Mass and lists as 1963-64)

France:

Etienne O’Leary:Day Tripper (D.C.)

Italy:

Gianfranco Barucello and Alberto Griffi:La Verifica Incerta (D.C.)

1966

Major Events:

August 16: In San Francisco, several filmmakers, including Bruce Conner, Ben Van Meter, Robert Nelson and Emory Menefee, meet at the Haight movie theater — commonly called “The Straight” — to discuss starting a film distribution cooperative. This is to become the Canyon Cinema Cooperative. (S.M. acknowledges that there’s a discrepancy regarding this specific date. Canyon originally printed in its Cinemanews magazine that the meeting took place on Aug. 14, but an interview with Bruce Conner places the date on Aug. 16.) (D.C. just says that Canyon Cinema Co-op is born.)

September 15: Andy Warhol premieres The Chelsea Girls for a one-week run in New York City. The film is 8 hours long, but projected simultaneously on two screens for 4 hours. (J.M.)

1967

Major Events:

Jacques Ledoux, director of the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, visits the U.S. to find films for the next International Experimental Film Competition. He also gives color film stock to several filmmakers, including James Broughton, in hopes they’ll make something for the Competition. (P.A.S.)